Basement Bathroom Inspiration

It is time to start nailing down finishes (I wish literally, but until then I gather inspiration).  I am going for what I like to call a 'modern rustic' theme for the basement.  

Googling that theme surprisingly brought up a plethora of photos I like!  If you want to get an idea of where my head is at, I rated the inspiration photos below by making them different sizes:

Large=Super Like

Medium=Like

Small=That's an idea

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Basement Inspiration : Laundry Room

Since we have dove into the deep end and gone full speed ahead with the basement renovation, its about time I share (or come up with!) some decor inspiration.  Today, it is all about the Laundry Room.  Honestly, it is one chore I absolutely despise doing in all shapes and forms.  Blah.  So, lets just say this itty bitty room better kick a$$ and be the most welcoming room e-v-e-r.

Here are some great looks that I found on Pinterest and have seen on the interwebs which will work great for our space.  Check out my Pinterest for sources.

I think this one is my fave though!  Maybe it is all the decorations that will likely never make it on my shelves (a girl can dream though!)

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You get the gist though
1) Definitely front load washer-dryer so that a countertop can be installed.  Need plenty of workspace.
2) Some type of backsplash or fun wallpaper/paint.
3) Shelves, shelves, shelves.  I think I will forgo cabinets.  Shelves will keep the room looking airy and open.
4) Light colors, to keep with the 'airy' theme
5) A built in drying rack / clothes hanging space is a must.

I may be convinced that doing laundry is actually 'fun' if I have a space like one of those above!

Kitchen Inspiration

Our new home's kitchen is quite 'builder basic-oakey cabinets-... just quite blah'.  So of course a girl is to search high and low for kitchen inspiration! 

What we are working with:
- Light Oak Cabinets
- White Appliances
- White/Gray Ceramic tiles

I love the look of white kitchen cabinets, but after thinking about it and knowing a kitchen transformation will take some time, white cabinets + white appliances + white floors = overwhelmingly white hospital look.. eek.

So, with that thought, I headed back out onto the interwebs and blogosphere for gray cabinet inspiration and white + black kitchen cabinet inspiration.  I had seen some gray cabinets (mostly on islands with main cabinets in white) and figured it would be the middle-ground I was looking for.  I also love the split white upper and black lower cabinet look, like House Tweaking's new kitchen. 

Now lets just get right to it... pics that make we wanna 'jump jump'...or something like that ;)  Sources are via my pinterest page, uon

House Tweaking's New Kitchen

Sally Wheat's Kitchen

August Field's Kitchen

After pondering and obsessing for days, oh yes, I realized gray was the answer.  That opened up a whole new can of worms, as in, I had to find the absolutely perfect gray for our kitchen.  I googled for what seemed an eternity every benjamin moore gray color that has ever existed - I really liked rockport gray, chelsea gray, and secret.  And then lighting struck and I landed on a picture of sally wheat's kitchen and cabinets in Fieldstone Gray.

That my friends, was like being punched in the stomach, gasping for air as I oogled her kitchen.  Which led me to August Field's kitchen as well.  I am super pumped to start the kitchen cabinet painting!!

Homes, Loans, and YHL

This post is really just a hodge podge of things on my mind this week. 

1.)  Appraisal on our place is TODAY!  I spent a good chunck of after-work time last night and before-work time today sprucing the place up.  First impressions count and I wanted it to smell nice, be clean and tidy, and generally yell 'OoLaLa .. I am soooo nice' :)

2.)  Loan application/processing to do's keep piling up.  Goal is to work on all this stuff tonight

3.)  YHL Book Signing!!!  You all may know about these fantastic people (I haven't met them before .. yet .. but they just seem like the awesomest people) - they have the blog Young House Love, and now a book I am dying to get my hands on!  I signed up for the book signing at Flor in Georgetown (which was yesterday) but under the stress of getting the house ready for the appraisal today, work work, and all other week day to dos I couldn't make it.  So, I bought the Living Social deal for this Saturday!  Cannot wait.  Really, this whole DIY home blogging inspiration came from them.

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John & Sherry from YHL - can't wait to meet them! {via}

A little history...

Hubs and I bought our current place 3 years ago ... it was in desperate need of some updating.  Some people would be turned off by the previous owner's choice of paint, outdated kitchen and appliances, etc, but not us! Memory Lane..

Original Dining Room

Original Dining Room

Living Room

Master Bedroom



2nd Bedroom

 We have been tackling DIY things such us painting, wood floors, kitchen update, and bathroom update over the past 3 years.  All DIY - one, because we love projects and two, we didn't want to put a ton of money into the place by hiring contractors since, in a condo, you don't get the full value out of updates. 

Current Dining Room

Current Living Room

Master Bedroom

2nd Bedroom

Two years into living in our current place, we got married.  Cue love song :) 

I spent that year before planning our fabulous wedding (all DIY and on-a-budget too).  I spent tons of hours on the wedding blog Style Me Pretty (great by the way) for inspiration.  After the wedding I was dying for another creative outlet and googled 'popular home DIY blogs'.  YHL popped up and I literally spent the next 2 weeks reading (slash scimming) every post they had posted to date.  That led to other blogs, my blog, etc and I have been hooked ever since on tackling more DIY projects and documenting them.  So, I guess you can say, YHL was the catalyst for my DIY Home obsession!

A Smokin' Exterior

I have our new house on my brain constantly these days.  Hubs and I still can't believe how far away Dec 26 is (our closing date).  Arg. 

What I am thinking about lately ... how to spice up the exterior. There is lots of white going on, see.

Not that I don't love white, but it is just begging for pops of color.  I was thinking a red or yellow door, like YHL's first house and second house .... but Hubs most definitely vetoed the idea of a yellow door. 

So, that leaves me with the following color scheme...

Front door in either Behr's California Poppy or Daredevil

Behr California Poppy

A California Poppy Red Door

Behr Daredevil

And Shutters in Behr's Black Suede

Behr Black Suede

A Black Suede Door

Mind Painting

I have sworn off painting for the past couple of months, but the minute we put an offer on our new place, I was already thinking of what colors we could paint the place.  Maybe I have a slight painting problem.  Not that the beigey color isn't bad - I looked at it again during our home inspection visit - but really, I want to add my OWN colors - OCD, possibly.

So, I have been scanning the interwebs for some paint colors for the house.  Here is what I want to paint:
- Living, Dining, Office - color 1
- Master Bedroom, Guest Bedroom - color 2
- Bathroom & Kitchen - I am not sure (cabinet color for kitchen will dictate wall color I think)

And here are the colors I am loving (for now) from BM:
Color 1 - either Revere Pewter or Broxburn Greige


Revere Pewter

Broxburn Greige

 Color 2 - either Tranquility or Gentle Gray

Tranquility

Gentle Gray

Hmmmm.....